Cushion-type spring weight control



Jan. 5, 1943. w. CUNNINGHAM 30 CUSHION TYPE SPRING WEIGHT CONTROL Filed March 12, 1942' 2 Sheets-Sheet l inventor, WHLTEE CuNNwaHnm az-mwww attorney 5 Jan. 5, 1943. w. CUNNINGHAM 2,307,670

. CUSHION TYPE SPRINGWEIGHT CONTROL Filed March 12, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l6 2 4a A 1 5 f?! WIILTER Cum/msHnM ZSnnentor 'QMM Gttorneg! Patented Jan. 5, 1943 cusnron 'rrrs SPRING WEIGHT CONTROL Walter Cunningham, Gastonia, N. 0., assignor to Bryant W. Gossett, GastonicuN. 0.

Application March 12, c942, Serial No. 434,386

, 2 Claims.

This invention relates to a top roll weighting mechanism for fiber preparation machinery, such as draw frames, spinning frames, combers, slubbers, intermediates, speeders, lap machines,'and the-like, and more especially to mechanism of this type so designed that gravity weighting is practically eliminated and a spring weight substituted therefor.

Heretofore, the pressure upon the top rolls of drafting machinery such as drawing frames and spinning frames has been generally applied by suitable gravity means such as weights and levers. In many cases, the levers have been eliminated and on weights employed, which supplied the necessary pressure. Since the pressures upon the top rolls are different, it was necessary to vary the gravity weights accordingly, and thus it is seen that much labor time and material was necessary in placing the machine in the proper running order.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved top roll weighting device wherein individual gravity means are eliminated, and a spring operated means substituted therefor to simultaneously apply or release pressure to all of the top rolls. Also means are provided whereby the initial pressure upon each individual top roll may be quickly and easily changed.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is an elevation of a portion of a textile drawing frame showing my improved top roll weighting mechanism associated therewith;

Figure 2 is an enlarged transverse sectional view showing the top and bottom rolls gripping a strand of fiber therebetween;

Figure 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken along the line 33 in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an isometric view, showing the de tailed construction of certain portions of the invention.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numerals i9 and H denote suitable frame supports sometimes referred to as Samsons, havlng a horizontally disposed U-shaped bed plate i2 secured to the upper ends thereof. Upon this bed plate, a plurality of roll stand brackets hi i are mounted, said brackets being adapted to adjustably support in a conventional manner suitable roll stands l5. Each of these roll stands l5 has a notch 16 therein for the accommodation of bottom drafting rolls l1 and stationary top roll bearings I8, said bearings l8 having the ends of top rolls [9 rotatably mounted therein.

These top rolls, as will be seen in the drawings are disposed directly above the bottom rolls, and serve to grip a strand of fiber 20 such as roving or the like therebetween. During the operation of the draw frame, the front rolls usually rotate at the fastest speed, whereas the rear rolls travel at the slowest speed, and the rollsbetween the back and the'front rolls travel at an intermediate speed. The purpose of providing this variably progressing rate of rotation between the front and the rear rolls is to draft the strand 20 and thus parallelize the fibers therein.

In order to prevent slippage of the strand 20 during this parallelization it is necessary that the top rolls have downward pressure applied thereto in a suitable manner to thereby provide a gripping action between the top and bottom rolls.

., As previously stated, this downward pressure on the top rolls has heretofore been efiected in numerous ways, the most common means being that of suspending a suitable weight from each end of each top roll. On account of the enormous weight which'is added to the machine and on account of the difficulty in adjusting the amount of weight applied to each of the rolls, this gravity method has been found to be expensive and in many cases unsatisfactory.

The present invention contemplates the elimination of the gravity method and applying in its stead a suitable cam action which may be operated to simultaneously apply diflerent pressures to the ends of each of the top rolls. Of course, the pressures can also be simultaneously released from the top rolls by operating the cam action in a reverse manner. This improved top roll pressure applying mechanism, in part, comprises a peripheral groove 2! out in each of the bearin members l8, said groove being adapted to accommodate a hook on the upper end of a hanger 22. Each of the hangers 22 extends downwardly, and has its lower hooked end penetrating a hole 23 in the upper end of a vertically disposed hanger rod 2G. These hanger rods extend downwardly through a slot 25 in the bed plate l2, and then through a second slot 26 in a substantially horizontal bar 21. The purpose of slot 26 is to aline the lower ends of the rods 24 in substantially parallel relation to each other, and also to permit the distance between the rods and their associated top and bottom rollers to be varied.

The bar 21 is held a substantial distance above the lower ends of the rods 25 by any suitable means such as coiled springs 23 disposed around each of the rods 24 and below the bar 21. In order to confine the lower end of the coiled springs 28 upon the hanger rods 24, a nut 29 is threadably secured on the lower end of each rod. This nut may be turned to vary the elevation of the lower end of the spring 28 and thereby vary the initial amount of pressure exerted by the spring upon its respective top roll.

Extending downwardly from each end of bar 2'! is a rod 36, each of said rods having its lower end secured as at 3! to a substantially horizontally disposed bar 32. extending longitudinally of the frame. The bars 32 have their upper edges substantially at the same elevation, and these upper edges are adapted to be engaged by the periphery of an eccentrically mounted cam or cylinder 33, said cylinder having its ends rotatably mounted as at 34 and 35 in the lower ends of brackets 35 and 31 respectively. A handle 38 is provided for manually turning the cylinder or cam 33 when it is desired to relieve or to apply pressure to the top rolls. In the position of handles 38 in Figures 1 and 3, the maximum pressure is being applied to the top rolls; whereas in the dotted line position shown in Figure 1, the pressure from the top rolls is substantially relieved. By providing a structure as shown in Figure 4, in association with each end of each set of top rolls, a single cylinder 33 may be utilized to simultaneously apply or release the top roll pressure.

It will also be noted that the bars 32 extend for a substantial length beneath the bed plate l2 and may be made of suflicient length to accommodate a number of top rolls l9. Therefore, it is necessary to space cam members 33 and associated handles 38 at suitable intervals along bars 52 so that the downward pressure will be equalized throughout the length of the bars.

It has been found by employing a mechanical pressure applying arrangement such as disclosed, that a more even sliver is produced than in the machines which have employed the gravity weighting. Furthermore the springs 28 give a certain amount of resiliency or cushioning effect to the pressure exerted upon the top rolls and thus permit these rolls to fioat over uneven places in the sliver. Since the pressure may be simultaneously applied to or relieved from all of the top rolls at one time, and since the initial weight exerted upon each top roll may be quickly and easily varied, the present invention has been found to possess many advantages over mechanisms heretofore produced.

In the drawings and specification, there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention, and although specific terms are employed they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. In fiber preparation machinery having a series of top and bottom rolls between which the fiber is adapted to pass, top roll pressure applying mechanism comprising a hanger rod suspended from each end of each top roll, a substantially horizontal'bar transversely disposed below each end of the series of top rolls, said bar being slidably mounted upon said hanger rods, a coiled spring mounted upon each of said rods and below said bar, a nut threadably secured upon each of saidrods for adjustably confining the lower ends of the springs in position, a longitudinally disposed bar connected to said transversely disposed bars, and a transversely disposed cam having its ends mounted in fixed position for rotation for engaging the longitudinally disposed bar for lowering the same and for applying downward pressure to the first-named bar and to said associated rods and springs to thereby yieldingly apply downward pressure to the ends of said top rolls.

2. In a drawing frame having a plurality of bottom and top rolls, means for applying downward pressure to the top rolls, comprising a downwardly depending rod hooked over each end of each top roll, a transversely disposed bar slidably disposed on the lower ends of each set of rods depending from each end of the top rolls, a coiled spring disposed around each of the lower ends of said rods and below said bars, means below each spring for adjustably confining the springs on the rods, a downwardly depending link on-each end of the bars, a pair of longitudinally disposed bars connected to the lower ends of said links, a pair of transversely disposed eccentrically mounted cylindrical cams mounted above the longitudinally disposed bars, whereby rotation of the cams in one direction will move the longitudinal and transverse bars downwardly and will apply downwardly directed resilient pressure on the top rolls.

WALTER CUNNINGHAM. 

